‘Empat Sekawan’ Veteran Actress Lai Meng Dies at 90

Malaysian veteran actress Datuk Lai Meng, affectionately known as ‘Lai Meng Yi’ or Aunty Lai Meng died at the age of 90, on Sunday night.

Lai, whose real name is Lai Kwai Yoon, made her debut as part of a four-member group in a popular radio comedy sketch in the 1950s.

Thereafter, she became famous in the family-oriented TV series Empat Sekawan which was first aired on RTM in 1966 and ran for two decades, ending in the 1980s.

At age 81, she received a nomination for best supporting actress at Taiwan’s 45th Golden Horse Awards for Singaporean filmmaker Jack Neo’s film Money No Enough 2 (2008), where she played the role of a mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

She also acted in other Singaporean films like Ah Long Pte Ltd (2008), Love Matters (2009) and Where Got Ghost? (2009).

Lai was awarded the AMN by the King in 1978 and the title of ‘Datuk’ by the Sultan of Pahang in 2013.

She received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Malaysia Golden Global Awards in 2017.

Lai had been making public appearances in a wheelchair ever since she had a fall last year.

She announced her retirement in a Tribute To Datuk Lai Meng Retirement Gala Dinner on Jan 27, 2018, an event that was attended by hundreds of artistes as well as her many friends from the entertainment industry.